Today, in honour of Heart Month, I want to talk about the link between iron deficiency and heart failure because it’s far more common than you might realize.
According to a paper published in the Cardiology Journal Heart, iron deficiency is present in 30 – 50% of patients with heart failure and has been associated with poorer medical outcomes including a higher risk of death.
Your nails say a lot about your health and doctors have actually looked to patients’ nails for clues about their health for centuries. It may seem like a strange connection, but changes in the visual appearance of your nails can be a sign of iron deficiency. The reason for this is that iron helps to carry oxygen throughout the body, including to your tissues. When you’re iron deficient, your tissues and muscles get less oxygen and this can show in your nails.